Safety alert - "Easee" wall chargers for electric cars

GraceCourt

I saw a TV advertisement for this range of chargers a few weeks ago and as we have an electric car but no dedicated wall charger I thought I'd do some research, especially as the Norwegian manufacturer has a UK subsidiary and there are numerous vendors of this range of chargers around the country.  The chargers themselves are quite stylish and relatively small compared to competitors.

However, I was alarmed to discover that the Elsäkerhetverket (Swedish Electrical Safety Authority) had been in correspondence with the Norwegian parent company about serious safety defects that had become apparent in tests, for example the claim that these units have an integrated RCD - residual current device - when this is not the case.  Long story short, although the company responded to the enquiries from the Elsäkerhetverket, on 15 March the Elsäkerhetverket ordered these units to be withdrawn from sale throughout Sweden on the grounds that they fail to meet electrical safety standards. Easee is appealing and seeking an injunction reversing the ban.

Here in the UK, these chargers are still on sale, but at the time of this post no response has yet been received from Trading Standards about whether or not these units will be banned here... I'll update this thread as soon as I receive their response.  In the meantime, although clearly there is a lot at stake in this dispute, I'm posting this information purely to inform potential purchasers about the problem because the television adverts continue but the UK advertiser - Easee UK Limited, of Trinity House, 31 Lynedoch Street, Glasgow, G3 6EF - has not responded to my enquiries.

GrubbyGirl_2

This is useful thank you as I am currently considering a hybrid.  I have a question though - do you actually need a dedicated charger?  I already have a power point out front and ideally I'd just like to be able to plug it in there - is that possible?

born_again

DO UK regs not state that you have to have a external RCD anyway?

Zinger549

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

This is useful thank you as I am currently considering a hybrid.  I have a question though - do you actually need a dedicated charger?  I already have a power point out front and ideally I'd just like to be able to plug it in there - is that possible?

You can plug it in to an outside power point but it will take longer to charge.

SiliconChip

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

This is useful thank you as I am currently considering a hybrid.  I have a question though - do you actually need a dedicated charger?  I already have a power point out front and ideally I'd just like to be able to plug it in there - is that possible?

Probably, but it'll take forever to charge compared to a dedicated wall charger. I'd suggest you do some research before going ahead with your purchase as you may well need to factor in the additional cost of a wall charger.

GrubbyGirl_2

SiliconChip said:

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

This is useful thank you as I am currently considering a hybrid.  I have a question though - do you actually need a dedicated charger?  I already have a power point out front and ideally I'd just like to be able to plug it in there - is that possible?

Probably, but it'll take forever to charge compared to a dedicated wall charger. I'd suggest you do some research before going ahead with your purchase as you may well need to factor in the additional cost of a wall charger.

I will thank you

powerful_Rogue

Worth checking for the vehicle online, will tell you how long it will take to charge via a 13amp plug compared to a wall charger. I doubt you would need a wall charger with a hybrid, they tend to have pretty small batteries compared to a full EV.

pulliptears

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

This is useful thank you as I am currently considering a hybrid.  I have a question though - do you actually need a dedicated charger?  I already have a power point out front and ideally I'd just like to be able to plug it in there - is that possible?

Some manufacturers offer a grant towards a charger, Mini currently has £300 but thats a full electric.  

GraceCourt

born_again said:

DO UK regs not state that you have to have a external RCD anyway?

My understanding is "yes" - my personal view (which users of this forum can take or leave as they see fit) is that where safety is concerned, I'd far rather trust my life to tried and tested technology, the Type "B" RCD according to IEC Standard 60755 (General requirements for residual current operated protective devices), that cuts off the mains connection with a mechanical cut-out that operates within 40ms (40 thousandths of a second) rather than a computer-operated cut-out that Easee claims is even better but which the Swedish Elsäkerhetverket regards as dangerously inadequate, hence the sales ban.

Fancy being a guinea pig for some inventor's great new bright idea?  I don't...

GraceCourt

powerful_Rogue said:

Worth checking for the vehicle online, will tell you how long it will take to charge via a 13amp plug compared to a wall charger. I doubt you would need a wall charger with a hybrid, they tend to have pretty small batteries compared to a full EV.

@GrubbyGirl_2 - Because almost every UK home only has a single-phase supply of electricity that is limited to a maximum 100A supply and generally has ring mains circuits each supplying a maximum current draw of 32A, you can generally only install a 7kW domestic wall charger.  Your outside 13A power point, if properly and safely installed (i.e. by a competent electrician, not by a bodger!) will charge at about half that rate.

In non-technical terms, if you are set on buying a hybrid, you'll probably be better off without the wall charger, and if you are buying an EV (sometimes called a BV - battery [only] vehicle) and relying on it to commute to/from work, you'll be well advised to have a wall charger and carefully calculate what you need for the daily return journey.  Factor in probably having to occasionally use a public "rapid" charger that gives you an 80% charge in under an hour when necessary.  But when using a public charger you'll pay slightly more for each "unit" (kWh or "kilowatt-hour") of electricity than at home.

GrubbyGirl_2

GraceCourt said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Worth checking for the vehicle online, will tell you how long it will take to charge via a 13amp plug compared to a wall charger. I doubt you would need a wall charger with a hybrid, they tend to have pretty small batteries compared to a full EV.

@GrubbyGirl_2 - Because almost every UK home only has a single-phase supply of electricity that is limited to a maximum 100A supply and generally has ring mains circuits each supplying a maximum current draw of 32A, you can generally only install a 7kW domestic wall charger.  Your outside 13A power point, if properly and safely installed (i.e. by a competent electrician, not by a bodger!) will charge at about half that rate.

In non-technical terms, if you are set on buying a hybrid, you'll probably be better off without the wall charger, and if you are buying an EV (sometimes called a BV - battery [only] vehicle) and relying on it to commute to/from work, you'll be well advised to have a wall charger and carefully calculate what you need for the daily return journey.  Factor in probably having to occasionally use a public "rapid" charger that gives you an 80% charge in under an hour when necessary.  But when using a public charger you'll pay slightly more for each "unit" (kWh or "kilowatt-hour") of electricity than at home.

@GraceCourt Thank you for that.  I'm definitely not ready to go fully electric so definitely a hybrid for me.  I had my who house renovated 2 years ago which included a full rewire so my outside sockets are definitely competently installed.  What I didn't fancy after all that work being done is to have wires run (and probably floorboards ripped up again) to have an outside charging point put in.  Fortunately I'm retired and now do around 5k miles a year max so a slow charge wouldn't cause me too much issue even if I had an all electric car (one day maybe).  Thank you for taking the time to explain.